Da Vinci Decathlon
Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519) was one of the world’s greatest thinkers and scholars.
Da Vinci demonstrated an ability to perceive the interconnected nature of knowledge and embraced learning with a lifelong passion and determination to uncover the unknown.
The Da Vinci Decathlon regional competition places a particular emphasis on higher order thinking skills, problem solving and creativity. Teams of eight decathletes were meticulously selected across 10 disciplines, engineering, mathematics and chess, code breaking, art and poetry, science, English, ideation, creative producers, cartography and legacy.
Please read below our team leaders' experiences on the day:
Year 7
Team Leader: Amelia McPherson
Team Members: Oliver Roberts, Abigail Bock, Aimee Uphill, Caitlin Pitstock, Edward Baker, Jenil Patel, Nicholas Campbell
On the exciting day of the Da Vinci Decathlon, our Year 7 and 8 teams travelled to The Riverina Anglican College to compete, but more importantly work cooperatively as a team. We were given three sessions to work together and use our strengths to create an opportunity for State competition. At the beginning things were tricky but as we worked together more it got easier and we were off with a bang as we started with Mathematics, Ideation, Engineering and Creative Producers.
In the second session we participated in English, Codebreaking, Science and Cartography with our group becoming tighter than ever. There were definitely some struggles especially with two of the trickiest subjects; Mathematics and English. Code Breaking was super interesting with morse code, ancient coding methods and more. In the third and final session we learnt more about Da Vinci himself and our tricky history in Legacy and Robots in Art and Poetry.
Overall it was an awesome opportunity for everyone and we enjoyed representing Mater Dei at the Da Vinci Decathlon and getting to work as a team.
The main message of the day was about social media and its effect on our society today, the past and in the future. We came home with a few wins but sadly not enough to make Sydney. Our Year 7 group came 1st in Cartography which is Geography and map making, 2nd in Code Breaking and 3rd in Ideation.
Year 8 and 9 teams also did an amazing job bringing more certificates back to Mater Dei. We are so thankful for Mrs Freebody, Miss Lawrence and the staff who prepared us for the competition. Hopefully we can do better next year and learn from our mistakes.
Thank you.
By Amelia McPherson
Year 8
Team Leader: Nate Gorostiaga
Team Members: Roseangela Zavaglia, Harvey McLachlan, Spencer Firman, Ella Howard, Austin Kanck, Abbey Broadhead, Kirsten Bation
On the day of the Da Vinci Decathlon, our Year 7 and 8 teams travelled to The Riverina Anglican College to compete in the competition. When we arrived, we were given an introduction and went straight into the first session. This session consisted of 4 “Challenges”: Ideation, Mathematics, Engineering and Creative Producers. We all worked hard to complete the challenges on time.
In Creative Produces three members of our team had to go and perform an act about the benefits and costs of social media. In the engineering challenge we had to build a hydro storage system, we put balloons on top of paper cups to show the storage and a solar farm next to it. We really enjoyed making this model. At the end of this session we handed all of our challenges in and we were happy with them. When achieved 1st in Ideation, 2nd in Maths and 3rd in Creative Producers.
Session two consisted of English, Codebreaking, Science and Cartography. As soon as the timer started our team was right into the papers. With students focusing on the english section, writing narratives and deciphering texts to the code breakers, finding an image out of a QR code. This was by far the hardest session. However in the end we submitted our challenges with a smile on our faces knowing we had done our best. In the end we placed 3rd in English and 2nd in Cartography. We were all very happy with this.
After our lunch break it was time to come back for the final session. This session consisted of Legacy and Art and Poetry. The Legacy task was very hard, being all about Leonardo Da Vinci’s past and his presence in the Renaissance. Part of the team focused on Art and Poetry, making a 3D model of a computer out of paper and writing their own poem. Overall we had a solid session submitting on time but unfortunately not getting any top 3 results.
All in all we had an amazing time at the Da Vinci Decathlon and we were very happy with the contribution we all made to the challenges on the day. We came 3rd overall which is very good considering there were around 10 or more other teams competing against us.
Finally, I would like to congratulate all the other Mater Dei teams, and Mrs Freebody, Miss Lawrence and those staff members that helped in making that day possible for us and always supporting us.
By Nate Gorostiaga
Year 9
Team Leader: Stephanie Shaw
Team Members: Nikki Cubis, Nathan Shaw, Felicity Steele, Molly Stephen, Hayden Kennedy, Samuel Thomsen and Harrison Uphill
When I first heard that I would be participating in the Year 9 Da Vinci Decathlon I was apprehensive, but as we delved into the preparation process my confidence grew and I began eagerly anticipating the event. During preparation George, who unfortunately couldn’t make the event due to a broken arm, came up with a team name, “Veni, Vidi, Vici”- Julius Caesar, this phrase is Latin for ‘I came, I saw, I won’. I believe this quote perfectly foreshadows what was to be for our Year 9 Da Vinci Decathlon team, thanks George.
We soon found ourselves entering the The Riverina Anglican College grounds and I once again felt anxious as we entered the hall for our first session. To begin we set a goal, to surpass the previous years results and finish in the top three. As the Decathlon started our team was quiet but each member worked hard to complete the first session, which consisted of four different subjects; Engineering, Ideology, Mathematics and Creative Producers. Initially we each stuck to our designated subjects, however Molly and I found Mathematics particularly challenging on our own so we collaborated with the rest of our team to try and solve some additional problems. By the end of the session our team had started bonding and helping each other according to each person’s strengths.
During the first break, despite only securing one award in the first session, 3rd in Ideology, our spirits remained undaunted, fueling our determination to excel in the upcoming sessions.
We walked into the second session, ready to tackle any challenge together. Once again there were four subjects; Science, English, Codebreaking and Cartography, and although we were each allocated to subjects, we worked together, asking each other questions we were unsure of and encouraging each other to work harder. Our team continued to bond, working towards one main goal, to improve on our first session.
During this session we joked about how we would come first in at least 3 of the 4 subjects. When it came time to announce the awards, most of our team was negative about what we would accomplish. Hayden however, was optimistic and lifted our spirits, telling us that we would definitely achieve first in at least three subjects. Turns out Hayden was right, and our hard work had paid off, achieving first in codebreaking, English and Science.
We entered the final session, our team motivated to do well again. This time the session only consisted of 2 subjects; Legacy and Arts and Poetry. We finished Legacy reasonably quickly, so we poured our creativity into a poem with each member contributing their own unique perspective.
Our efforts culminated into securing 2nd place in both Legacy and Arts and Poetry. I was so proud, no matter what overall placing we would achieve, we had become a team. We ended up finishing 2nd overall and at first I was disappointed, wishing we won, but I quickly realised how much each member of the team had improved and contributed to our overall placing and my disappointment turned into pride and a sense of accomplishment.
I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to compete in such a challenging event, and very proud of the growth and unity of our team. Thanks to Nathan and Hayden for stepping up to compete in the Da Vinci Decathlon last minute, and to the whole team, I’m so proud of your unwavering dedication and hard work displayed throughout the day. Your contributions were instrumental towards our success.
Congratulations also to both the Year 7 and Year 8 Da Vinci Decathlon teams, I’m super proud of your efforts and achievements throughout the competition. Lastly, thank you to Ms Freebody and any other staff that made this day possible, thank you for your support and guidance, we are so grateful for the opportunity you gave us and we look forward to striving for even greater heights next year!
By Stephanie Shaw
Mrs Courtney Freebody | Leader of Learning - Digital Technology and STEM